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When Richie was young, he and his brother lived with their abusive father. One night after their father passed out drunk, Richie set fire to the house. Their father, Ray Gecko, was burned alive, but Richie and Seth made it out. They then went to live with their adopted Uncle Eddie Cruickshank, who taught them the skills required to become professional thieves. He was the largest influence in their lives and ultimately impacted their future with his own moral "code," which is of high importance to the brothers.

In Pilot, Richie and Seth rob a bank and kill 4 rangers and a couple of police officers, while kidnapping a bank teller named Monica Garza. He and Seth come to Benny's World of Liquor and hide their car beside a large truck full of hay. They go inside and while Seth goes in the bathroom, Richie talks to a girl named Jessie. They're talking about old alcohol products and Richie starts getting a little creepy, to which Jessie leaves to go to the cash register. Richie keeps hearing a female voice and goes up to where the girls and Pete are, and grabs a hold of Jessie. He tells Seth that they know who the brothers are and Seth asks her if she does and tells him no. Seth reveals that Richie broke him out of prison and they are going somewhere to get away from the law. Richie thinks Seth doesn't believe him and that he's crazy, and they see a couple of Rangers and they take the girls with them into the back. When Earl comes out of the bathroom and asks Pete if he's seen anyone again, Richie shoots Earl and the blood splatters on Pete. Richie says that Pete was signaling the ranger and a shootout then happens. While Earl is lying on the floor, Richie asks it feels to be dying and gets a smart remark in return. Richie then walks away and he starts seeing weird hallucinations of the two girls and keeps hearing a female's voice. Richie is then arguing Seth about the arrangements to get out of the liquor store and is mad at Seth with his connection. After another shootout and Richie gets shot in the hand, he kills Earl. After he does, he sees two creatures and is attacked by them. It turns out that it's two girls and they are kicking the crap out of him. He is seen cowering in fear and is looked at by his brother as he does. After a fire starts and the store blows up, the brothers are then walking to their car and Richie is getting berated by Seth for what he did.

In Opening Night, Richie and Santánico are doing a heist to give a message to Amancio. They make love to each other and he finds it a little weird at first, but ends up liking it. He also gives Santánico a bracelet as well. Richie goes to a gas station and hires two men to help them keep an eye on the cameras. At first, they are paralyzed by a venom from a culebra, but some time later Santánico wakes up and gets Richie on his feet. They end up defeating the culebra, and get the money they need. When the two men threaten to out Richie as he is a Gecko, Richie tells Santánico that they can eat them and they do. Richie and Santánico then decide to get the Geckos' car and run it off a cliff so the lawmen won't be on their tails.

In Attack of the 50 Ft. Sex Machine, Richie and Santánico capture Paloma to use her and a few others girls as a way to infiltrate Amancio's food supply. He then goes up to meet Eddie, his uncle, at his store and asks him if he knows anybody with sex trafficking. He disguises himself as a sex trafficker and goes to meet up with Nathan Blanchard. He shows him footage of Paloma dancing in her underwear and bra, and asks for 50% of the profits, which Nathan tells him he'll think about it. He is still seen wearing his glasses and is told about virgin girls and their blood by Santánico. Afterwards, he goes outside and is captured by Blanchard's men and is shot, to which he vamps out and consumes Langston's soul. He then transforms into Langston and uses it to his advantage. When they arrive at Nathan's home, he transforms back and shows him the girls. He then asks for 80% and Nathan agrees to the deal.

In Bondage, Richie is caught by Nathan and his men and brought into a room. Nathan tells him they're going to kill him and Richie gets a telepathic connection from Santánico and tries to listen in on what she is saying. Nathan wonders what he is doing and breaks him out of the connection. Richie asks him about where the truck is going and Nathan is about ready to shoot him, but Seth comes and shoots him instead. Richie goes for the two other men and kills them as well. He is angry at Seth as Nathan was going to tell him about the truck and Seth remarks that he saved his life and this is how he repays him. They go outside and when Richie tries to go in at least two of the cars parked, Seth shoots the tires from both of them, making Richie angry. He tells him he wants to his own thing, and Seth tells him to get in the car. They argue more while in the car and Richie reveals that it hasn't been a basket of roses with Santánico and he insults Seth about his new fling, Sonja. They meet up with Sheriff McCorkle and they try to bargain with him to get answers about where the truck is heading, and even when they give him the money, the didn't exactly get the answer they were looking for, and they leave. They are driving down a road and get a call and they turn around to find the truck with the girls. They find the truck and they run it off, and the driver comes out and vamps, but Seth stakes him. McCorkle shows up and tells them that he made a bargain with Malvado and will take the truck instead. They are handcuffed and when the truck leaves, Richie breaks the handcuffs and they leave in the two cars. They arrive at Jacknife Jed's and they walk in front of the headlights, with the girls right behind them.

Richie is paler of countenance than his brother Seth. He has short dark hair, mostly seen slicked back. His icy blue eyes are obscured by thick glasses, which he still often wears after having been turned into a culebra, despite having regained perfect vision. He's usually seen wearing suits. He appears to be between 22-27.

Richie is a self-proclaimed prodigy with a high level of intellect. He believes the world is a dangerous and predatory place, and that reliance on oneself is the key to success. When he comes into possession of the Aztec spirit knife, Richie’s mental state becomes increasingly unstable. He begins to experience hallucinations and exhibit sociopathic tendencies as he connects more and more with the spirit world -- and with Santánico Pandemonium, who speaks directly to his mind. The result of this connection is an extrasensory ability that allows him to glean emotional information from people, giving him a strange and disturbingly accurate insight into their minds. It allows him to detect lies from his hostages as well as their intentions.

Richie is typically standoffish, aloof with a dry wit and smoldering temper. It belies his eagerness to prove himself the best, the most knowledgeable, at everything. He’s slower to explode than his brother Seth but always ready to quip at anyone. In the beginning, we only see his softer side revealed through the mess of his mental state in his interactions with female hostages. In his moments of lucidity, he’s almost gentle with Monica Garza, and with Kate Fuller seems to take an "I look at you and see a mirror" outlook. He’s understanding of her emotions and can sense her inner grief. Though at first glance he was more attracted to her physically than emotionally, later they develop a more platonic connection. And as he grows to know Santánico better, he came to understand her better. Conversely, his relationship with Seth suffers greatly throughout the seasons. He doesn’t rely on Seth anymore after he’s turned, having his own plan and a whole new strength. But the time they spend apart in Season Two, and the mess they make of jobs, makes it clear that while they can function on their own and with outside help, the Gecko brothers still need one another.

Richie’s state of mental health seems to improve after his transformation into a culebra (when Santánico no longer needed to influence his decisions from within) and once again he seems ever focused on his next score and doesn't wish to hurt civilians.